A true career is doing more of the things you love doing!

When you climb the classic career ladder you might find yourself, somewhere along the road, quite unsatisfied. I’ve coached senior CEO’s that has climbed that ladder all their life. Driven by the ego, admiration, power, prestige and status. And to be honest, they’re hardly ever happy.

At the end of their career they “have it all” but the sacrifices that they had to do to get it is eating them up from inside. Society looks upon these careers with admiration but what people who has climbed the ladder often feels is complete emptiness. They got caught up in the normative definition of defining success and they know they can’t rewrite history. When I ask them if they have one good advice for the next coming generation it’s always the same:

“Find what you enjoy, what you’re passionate about, and do it! Don’t let others tell you what’s important!”

What we enjoy doing differs over time. The same goes for what we believe is our purpose in life. In order to optimize your true potential I believe that it’s extremely important that you give yourself the freedom to be dynamic to those changes and look upon career not as a ladder but as a possibility to do more of the things you enjoy. More things that are meaningful to you!

So if you’re caught in the career race, chasing titles and power, remember that there is no joy in a title – it’s just a title. The joy comes if you truly enjoy doing the tasks that comes with it! Whether you’re an entrepreneur or an employee, make sure that the career you’re choosing is yours!

collengustafsson

Peter

2017-01-10 at 6:02 pm

Couldn’t agree more but it is easier said than done, people gets blindfolded when nurturing their Egos and social structure they believe they have to surround do themselves with in order to furthermore nurture their Egos. I believe it is the Ego that drags along great the rest that follows. And then of course, if you’ve come to certain point in your career with a package that allows for an abundant life style, it is sometimes harder to leave the hamster wheel than to remain unhappy in the convenient situation you’re in, regardless it will take its toll on your personal and the people nearest you. But again, if people would come to their senses and live closer to your theory, the world would become a better place, for everyone.

Creating balance has a lot to do with how you deal with challenges! What sometimes makes me sad is that the vast majority of people are clinging on to the dream that “some day I’ll have balance in my life” and it’s as if they put their happiness on hold and accept that they won’t be completely happy until that day. And meanwhile LIFE goes on, the actual life, not the imagined!